Altice USA said it has formed Altice USA News, a business unit comprised of its News 12 and i24News operations and geared to focus on the continued development and growth of the company’s news properties.
The new division will be led by former Altice USA chief content officer Michael Schreiber, who will become EVP and president of Altice USA News and report to Altice USA co-president and chief financial officer Charlie Stewart.
As part of his past duties, Schreiber negotiated carriage deals for i24News in the U.S., where the network is currently available on Charter/Spectrum, Mediacom, and Altice USA’s Optimum and Suddenlink systems.
“In today’s world, access to reliable, high-quality news is absolutely vital, which makes i24News and News 12 an incredibly important part of the Altice USA portfolio,” Stewart said in a statement. “The establishment of a content-focused news organization under Michael will only help to strengthen our news properties and focus on their continued growth and development.”
Schreiber’s past responsibilities as chief content officer will be assumed by current chief procurement officer Yossi Benchetrit, who becomes chief procurement and programming officer. In the expanded role, Benchetrit will be responsible for all strategy, management and procurement of goods and services for the company, including oversight of the procurement, programming, real estate and corporate administration functions, with a focus on developing strategic partnerships. Benchetrit has already played a significant role in content negotiations at Altice USA, and previously led all procurement activities for content, technology and network initiatives and supplier relationships for Altice worldwide. He reports to Altice USA Chairman and CEO, Dexter Goei.
Within the Altice USA News division, Patrick Dolan will serve as senior network advisor of News 12 and will report to Schreiber. Additionally, Schreiber will work closely with Frank Melloul, CEO of i24News, who will continue to lead the i24News organization and its three channels globally.
“i24News and News 12 are already very strong and successful news organizations among their core audiences, and I am excited to be onboard to bring both networks to the next level with a focus on expanding audience reach, enhancing digital products, and further capitalizing on advertising potential,” Schreiber said in a statement.
